Golden Egg

     A tangled mess of platinum blonde hair can be seen peering through the crowd of neatly dressed children, their chubby faces pressed against the window display, admiring the lines of bright candies. His fair skin is coated with smudges of soot, giving him a grayish complexion. As his nose brushes against the cool glass, his focus bounces between the different colored treats. He fixates on a grand chocolate egg wrapped in golden foil and beams a toothy grin. Tiptoeing through the door, he slowly ducks between the masses, careful not to catch the watchful eye of the cashier, who is more than familiar with greedy children. Just before his grubby fingers can clasp around the egg, he’s yanked back by the collar of his ratty shirt and thrown to the curb, the cashier shooting him a glare as he walks back inside. The boy smacks his palms against the concrete, feeling the rocks and glass shards burrow into his flesh. His stomach emits a low growl, and he abruptly swivels his head to glance back at his radiant egg, gaze sharpening on his target. This time, he presses his spine against the wall below the register and slowly slinks right underneath the cashier’s nose. Once he is close enough to see his warped face in the foil, he leaps up and snatches it, bolting out of the store before any hands can grab him.

     He glances back, blowing a raspberry at the open mouthed cashier before stumbling over his own two feet and plummeting right on top of the egg.